This red and green pasta is perfect for the holidays.  You can serve it as a main dish (I would probably add some pancetta) or as a side dish or first course.  We saw Michael Chiarello create this dish on the Food Network and couldn’t wait to try it.  A couple of things - his recipe calls for 2 Tbls. finely chopped garlic which is definitely too much for my taste - his recipe also recommends Zinfandel wine but we used a Cab/Malbec combo and it was also quite tasty.

Red Wine Spaghetti with Broccoli Rabe

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a first course/side dish

1 3/4 lbs. broccoli rabe, thick stems cut off
1 lb. spaghetti
1 bottle red wine
1 tsp. sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 Tbls. finely chopped garlic
1 tsp. dried hot red pepper flakes
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Blanch the broccoli rabe in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.  Transfer the rabe to a large colander to drain, reserving the cooking liquid in the pot.

Return the cooking liquid to a boil and cook the spaghetti, for 5 minutes (pasta will not be fully cooked).  Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.  Add the wine and sugar to the pot and boil vigorously 2 minutes until the liquid is reduced a bit.  Add the spaghetti and shake the pot to prevent the pasta from sticking.  Stir with tongs until coated and boil over high heat, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 6 minutes. 

Saute the garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil in a large, deep skillet until garlic is pale golden.  Add broccoli, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add 1/2 of the cup of reserved pasta water.

Combine the spaghetti and broccoli rabe mixture and cook for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and season with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil.  Stir in the grated cheese and serve immediately.